01 February 2024 , 13:02
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Martin Lewis has urged all pensioners who are ill or disabled to check if they could be entitled to over £3,500 a year.
The MoneySavingExpert.com founder highlighted the importance of Attendance Allowance from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in this week's MSE newsletter. One person named Philip emailed MSE to explain how he and his wife had been struggling for eight months - and didn't realise they might qualify for help.
Attendance Allowance is not based on income or savings, but rather if pensioners need some daily living assistance. There are two rates available and the basic level is worth £68 a week, or £3,540 a year. This is for people who need help either during the day or night. If you need help both during the day and night, or have under 12 months to live, you could get the higher amount which is worth £102 a week, or £5,300 a year.
But MSE says as many as 1.1million households are missing out on this support. After applying for Attendance Allowance last month, Philip told MSE that the extra £68 per week they now receive makes their lives "just a little bit easier in difficult times". Philip said in his email: "Dear Martin and all at MSE, I'm not sure if being ill enough to qualify for Attendance Allowance can be classed as success, but £68 each week certainly does not come amiss!
"Despite struggling on for 8 months, it never occurred to my wife and I that she might qualify for help until reading about it on MSE. We applied mid Dec and received positive notification today. Thank you - you have made our lives just a little bit easier in difficult times."
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Martin wrote: "In December, I wrote an alert to all pensioners, after our report with Policy in Practice identified up to 1.1m pensioners were missing out on £3,500+ a year because they don't claim Attendance Allowance (a payment to help cover costs of pensioners who need someone to 'attend to' them). It's the first time we've covered this in detail on MSE, and it coincided with launching our new Attendance Allowance (AA) guide. I'm delighted to say the results are starting to come in..."